McCarthy and Scalise deny US Chamber of Commerce for backing Democrats
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) both declined to meet with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce due to the Democrats’ endorsement by the organization.
In a statement to CNBC on Monday, Mark Bednar, McCarthy’s chief spokesman, said the organization’s priorities no longer align with those of the Republican Party.
“The priorities of the US Chamber of Commerce do not align with the priorities of House Republicans or the interests of their own members, and they should not expect a meeting with President McCarthy while it does,” Bednar said.
Lauren Fine, spokesperson for Steve Scalise, reiterated the same sentiment.
“Washington has moved dramatically away from the pro-business ethos of most local chambers across America,” Fine said. “Unless the House returns to its traditional pro-business roots, it should not expect to have an engagement with Majority Leader Scalise’s office.”
According to CNBC, House Republicans may be investigating the House and have begun drafting questions to ask regarding its stance on the Biden administration’s push for environmental regulations in the name of climate change:
McCarthy’s refusal to meet with the House is the latest strike in an ongoing feud between some Republican members of the House and the Chamber of Commerce. The Intercept reported that House Republicans plan to probe the House as GOP lawmakers go after anyone who supports President Joe Biden’s push for more environmental, social and governance (ESG) regulations. The Daily Caller reported that the House plans to sue the Securities and Exchange Commission if it goes ahead with a disclosure rule related to climate change.
Republican House lawmakers are drafting questions to send to the House in the coming weeks, questioning its stance on ESG issues and questioning some of the House’s conduct, including allowing the former House CEO Thomas Donohue to use the commercial group’s corporate jet for personal use. trips, according to lawmakers and advisers aiming to probe the organization. These people declined to be named in order to speak freely about private discussions.
Kevin McCarthy (CA) told Breitbart News in January last year that the US Chamber of Commerce would no longer be welcome in the Republican Party if it continued to support Democrats and support big business at the expense of Americans .
Matthew Perdie / Breitbart News, Jack Knudsen / Breitbart News
“The House left the party a long time ago,” McCarthy said. “In the last election, the House supported the Democrats. The House gave a higher score to Democrats, who vote for this policy because they signed a letter and then voted the opposite of what the letter said, than Kevin Brady, who was president of Ways and Means and gave us brought the tax cuts.
“I just assume they have as much influence in the future as they have now – none,” he added. “Our responsibility is to the American public. That’s who’s going to drive it. If the special interests are the American public, then they will have a say, but it’s the American public that we’re going to talk to.
The House also backed several Democrats over Republicans in the 2020 congressional elections, working to preserve the Democratic majority.
“If the Republicans had flipped just a handful more seats – they flipped 15 net Democrats in 2020 – they would have the majority instead of the Democrats right now. The House, which endorsed 23 House Democrats in 2020, may have made a difference in helping to keep Democrats in the majority, as some of the members the business group endorsed survived re-election races tight,” noted Breitbart News.
Tim Doyle, a spokesman for the Chamber of Commerce, told CNBC that the group is nonpartisan and endorses Republican-consistent policies.
“House priorities include lowering taxes, cutting spending, fighting overregulation and many other issues, and we align ourselves with House Republicans on many issues important to American businesses of all sizes,” Doyle said. “We disagree with those who believe the House should become a one-party partisan organization and recognize that this difference has created some tension. We will, however, continue to do what we have done for more than 110 years, which is to advance the free market priorities of the American business community. »
Breitbart
